VideoGamer.com Plays August 19, 2012

The games we've been playing this week.

I'm liking Sleeping Dogs quite a bit. The last open-world game of any sort I enjoyed and played properly was Batman: Arkham City, and strangely this effort from United Front Games and Square Enix has some similarities.

The combat feels very Batman, with counters playing a heavy part in the combat - although in the early stage of the game I'm currently playing it's not nearly as fluid. Still, it makes a change from the weapon focus most open-world titles have.

I've also been impressed by the presentation. I'd read about and seen some shonky things, but so far the game has delivered a very believable world and some excellent character and city modelling.

The game is also typically tongue in cheek when it comes to the conversations NPCs have with each other. I overheard one lady talking to her friend about what rhino horn does for a man's, well, horn, only for her to then suggest she hopes it also makes them want to use their mouth more. I was shocked!

Still, so far so good, and I'm hoping the undercover storyline picks up pace as the game continues beyond its learning the ropes opening.

Oh, and any story you might read about a game of FIFA 12 is unlikely to tell the full story of my domination!

FIFA 12 is the game of choice at VideoGamer HQ during our lunch break. Every afternoon at 1:30pm, screams of joy, despair, and sighs of complete disinterest can be heard from the meeting room.

We tried to arrange a small FIFA tournament just before the gang flew off to Gamescom, but that quickly fell apart. Poor Spenceley tried so hard to keep the matches running.

I'm not a bad FIFA player, so I've managed to win most of my games, but the one game that seems to live longest in the collective memory of the team is my loss to Tom. It's safe to say I was robbed.

Tom will disagree, but I was dominant for most of the game (I hope this makes it past the edit...) and despite shot after shot, I couldn't take the lead. After 90 minutes the game was tied at 1-1. The rule is we go straight to golden goal, just for added intensity.

Then, one of those inexplicable moments that are only possible in a video game happened. Tom breaks through one-on-one, I make a great tackle and the keeper picks up the ball. BUT...after the keeper hands the ball to a nearby defender, the striker and defender are intertwined in a weird glitch that leads the referee to award a penalty.

You know those clashes you see in the Premier League every weekend? Where one player's arm gets attached to another player's chest, and they behave as though they are being electrocuted before falling down? Yeah, that one.

A VG penalty is pretty similar to watching the England national team - we don't have great expectations. Tom steps up and scores.

I only played ME for the first time this year and I have to say I enjoyed the planet exploration, I even missed it in 2 & 3.

You ARE talking about the driving-on-planet part right? I wouldn't have minded that so much perhaps - I kinda liked using the craft on the story missions, but god the whole moving-slowly-on-land-driving-around-the-mountains-to-find-minerals-all-the-while-hoping-you-don't-flip-over-and-die thing drove me nuts.

Blacklight Retribution. A solid f2p shooter where you don't feel like you have to buy anything. Although, if you wanted to using real money it's really expensive (£4.50 for a scope!)

StarCraft 2 - Just the campaign. I've said everything I can on it before.

Hey Neon make sure you follow Zombie Studio's twitter - they give away codes for unlocks in BLR from time to time. I've been jumping in and out of that game too, and I'm bloody loving it (even though I suck at online shooters). Really love the customsational aspect of it. Making a gun that suits your playstyle using parts that you have unlocked is just so satisfying.

Still haven't gotten round to finishing SC2 myself - hopefully I will... at some stage.

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Originally Posted by pblive

Finally started Mass Effect. Yes, the first one.

I finally gotten round to finishing that this year myself - it... was okay, but the whole planet exploration thing bored me to tears. Really should go do ME2, but meh, finishing off The Witcher atm.

Played Final Fantasy XIII-2; the combat system and random mobs made me long for the combat system of XII; So reinstalled Dragon Age Origins as i never got round to playing Awakening.

Also been playing Legend of Grimrock, which is probably best five quid game i've ever brought; mainly thanks to Martins Steam summer sale gems piece a few weeks back. I find it alot more nerve racking than Slenderman, plus who doesn't like abit of retro gaming every now and again.

I finished san andreas and started the slow re-acclimatization back to vice city. Also I am still waiting for torchlight 2 to come out. My holiday is slowly disappearing and even though it is supposed to be out by now, I'm worried I won't be playing before the new school term starts.

On a side note my I-pod touch (gen 1) is also on its last legs. I can play music and podcasts just fine, but flicking through playlists and browsing the web lead to spontaneous freezing. No third party apps will work so it's uses are diminishing. I should get anew one, but without money that is easier said then done.

Playing and loving SLEEPING DOGS,simply the best open world blah blah blah in a good while,having a blast with the martial arts combat,driving and exploration and the story and script is right up there with rockstars finest ,added to that the great music and you have a strong best sleeper hit of the year contender.Also finished INVERSION,just gets better as you play through,had a good ending too.

According to Raptr, I have played nothing this week. I know that I haven't played much, but it's more than nothing.

I bought CS:GO, for example, and tried Arms Race mode. I can see that becoming the most loved AND hated game of the next few months for many. I also bought Sound Shapes on the PS3, and played about an hour or so of that. And I am now expecting to lose FOUR games on Hero Academy. So there, that shows YOU, Raptr!

The Amazing Spider-Man, just spent a few hours doing one main mission, one side, and a lot of web swinging/collecting comic pages throughout the city!

Also spent a couple of hours on Sleeping Dogs. Hmmm... a litle bit cliched and cheesy, but still, seems like it will provide plenty of exploration. Really like the music choices, and it does seem to have captured the... exuberance... of the Chinese marketplace.